Does This Viral Photo Really Symbolize The Unrest In Brazil?

This picture has taken the Internet by storm. But is it an accurate representation of the unrest that has engulfed Brazil over the past couple of years?

A viral image (posted above) from Brazil’s ongoing protests has stirred debate in Brazil — but not for the reason many would think.

Sure, the white couple and the maid pushing the stroller represent class disparity in the South American country, but that social issue is not the reason thousands of people are currently out on the streets.

First of all, a little background: This is not the first time such massive protests have broken out in Brazil.

The unrest officially set off in June 2013 following a transportation fare hike. Initially only young people set out to protest but, with time, more people joined in and the protests turned into a full-fledged movement against rampant corruption within government ranks.

Angry citizens finally had a platform to express their pent up frustrations against the plutocratic regime that appeared more interested in raking in money from soccer matches than addressing the common man’s needs and wants.

The movement became Brazil's largest since the 1992 protests against former President Fernando Collor de Mello.

After the state-owned oil group Petrobras reported gross debts of more than $135 billion, making it the world’s most indebted oil producer, a major scandal blew up in mid 2014 involving high-profile politicians, including President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva.

More protests erupted in the following days over alleged government corruption, as well as against the spiraling cost of the 2014 FIFA World Cup preparations.

Pracownik, who is the vice-president of finance at Rio de Janeiro’s Flamengo soccer club, expressed his outrage in the post, saying the photo was being misused to distract the world from the main reason behind the protests.

He added the woman pushing the stroller indeed works for him and that she should not be called a victim just because she works as a nanny.

“I treat her with respect and offer her the dignity to which any employee is entitled,” he wrote.